Campaign on food security bill starts today

OUR CORRESPONDENT

A campaign to spread awareness about the Centre’s Food Security Bill and its strengths and weakness will kick off in the state from Tuesday.

The drive, part of the Right to Food campaign initiated by rights activists and NGOs, will start from Chaibasa and cover districts of Kolhan, South Chotanagpur, North Chotanagpur and the coal belt before ending at Jamshedpur on October 16, which is World Food Day. Activists, who will go around interacting with the public, will hold a public meeting in Jamshedpur on that day, where different points, both good and bad, of the proposed law will be discussed.

“The idea is to tell apprise people of the Food Security Bill and its provisions. We want certain changes and will tell the people about the same. For example, the bill proposes targeted distribution of foodgrains and other essential commodities. But we want universalisation in the distribution system,” said Gurjit Singh, Jharkhand convener of Right to Food Campaign

The activists are also demanding that edible oil and pulse should be given to consumers at subsidised rates instead of just wheat and rice as is the current practice.

Similar exercises are being carried out in states like Bengal, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Odisha.

All these activists will gather in Jamshedpur on October 16, on the last day of the campaign, to discuss the Food Security Bill.